Chance ME!

Colleges & Universities A-Z Princeton University
1

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): NA- will take in fall
[</em>] SAT I superscore (breakdown): NA
[<em>] ACT (breakdown): 33. 34 E, 34 M, 32 R, 31 S
[</em>] ACT superscore (breakdown): 33, 34 E, 35 M, 34 R, 32 S
[<em>] SAT II: math II: 800, U.S. history 750 (I forgot to answer 10 questions. Though it ended at 80. Plan to retake)
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8
[<em>] Weighted GPA: 4.56
[</em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4/760
[<em>] AP (place score in parentheses): AP U.S (5). Will shortly receive scores for Psych, English Lang, Spanish Lang, Chem, Calc BC, Euro
[</em>] IB (place score in parentheses):
[<em>] Senior Year Course Load: Calc III, Spanish V, AP Bio, AP econ, AP Stats, AP Eng Lit, (graduation rqs- consumer ed, gym, digital music)
[</em>] Number of other EA applicants in your school: don’t know
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):[/ul] Questbridge college prep award?</p>[/li]
<p>Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Math team 9-present, won awards in regionals/state competitions(no leadership positions available), Scholatic Bowl 4 years, Key Club 4 years (President), Track 9,11, Volleyball 9,11. 29-0 JV 2011 season,
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: Paid intern at a company, do search engine optimization, started beginning of 2011
[li] Volunteer/Community service:[/ul] Local Mosque, through Key Club, Tutoring, Tzu Chi Bhuddist Organization, other seasonal volunteer opportunities, </p>[/li]
<p>Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): IL
[</em>] School Type: Public
[<em>] Ethnicity: Asian (Pakistani)
[</em>] Gender: Male
[<em>] Income Bracket: <50,0000
[</em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/ul] Immigrant, moved here in 5th grade. Family of 9, rent home, tough economic situation. </p>

<p>Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: Decent test scores, Rigorous course load, touch economic situation
[</em>] Weaknesses: Some B’s, nothing extraordinary in EC
[*] What would you have done differently?:[/ul] Should have tried HARDER</p>

2

<p>Don’t retake history. 750 will not hurt you in any way.
you don’t stand out in anyway. so just try, write strong essays and hope for stellar recommendations and see what happens. it’s high reach for you.</p>

3

<p>my dad works from 8am to 11 pm and my mom doesnt speak english. So I help/tutor 4 of my younger siblings. I also have to do other housework (dishes, lawn, fixing/making/buying computer, groceries, minor plumbing, and all that other fun stuff). if I talk about this, it should help my chances, right?
Also, we moved middle of freshmen year, and sophmore year was annoying and I couldnt do many EC because older bro wanted to finish his senior year at old High SChool and mom had to pick him up since he was in cross country, indoor/outdoor track. my mom also had evening ESL classes, so it was hard to actually “commit” deeply to something.
I also an immigrant from northwest (the under represented region, near afghanistan) of pakistan. english 2nd languate. still speak urdu and saraki,(native languages) and have that cultural connection. will this be a + point? </p>

<p>I appreciate your honesty. It probably is a high reach for me. Its a bit late, but do you have some suggestions/tips?</p>

4

<p>yes, your life story (when written well) could help make you stand out, but tell how it helped you not with a tone of resentment. </p>

<p>ace your classes next year.</p>

<p>and … i hate to tell you to retake act, but this late in the game, there are not too many options. nice if you can pull it up to a 35, if not for P for some scholarships elsewhere. mind you, 33 is competitive for all schools.</p>

5

<p>I got a 33 on my 1st on, and 33 again on the june one. Everthing went up except english, which went from 34 to 30, so I should have gotten a 34 comp. I do plan to retake in fall. </p>

<p>I waiting for my Spanish AP score and if get a 4+, i plan to replace spanish V with AP Physics and AP Gov, (conflicting schedules, works out this way). I feel like schools recommend 4 years of foreign language so kids know a diff language and know about other cultures. I already know Urdu, Saraiki, and some Arabic. and I’m pretty good at Spanish, so that shouldn’t hurt me too much, right? Its just that Spanish is one of those classes that I have to actually study to get an A, (grammar doesn’t come to me naturally). </p>

<p>Mr. Stanford, do you have other tips for me? haha. Would dropping lunch and throwing another class in there look nice? Say if there isn’t an AP class available in exchange for my lunch, is it possible to do a self-study AP? </p>

<p>Should I bother applying to several top-tier schools (ivies, stanford, UC, etc) or are they all too high of a reach for me?</p>

6

<p>^ If you get questbridge, which I’m sure you’re applying for right?, your chances of getting to all the top schools would be 50%+ which is great.</p>

7

<p>Yes, I am. and let’s hope I get it, cuz that would help.
just curious, what makes you say 50%+ chance?</p>

8

<p>^ because colleges love the combination of questbridge and high stats</p>

9

<p>I think you should still apply to those super selective schools. Since you have a difficult family situation, colleges will understand if your outside of school involvement isn’t spectacular (they’re really good, but hey, everyone’s really good in the applicant pool). Also, don’t retake the SAT II history or the ACT. You’ve already taken the ACT two times, and honestly, I don’t think a 33 or 35 is that much of a difference. It seems like you can handle college work. The time that you spent towards ACT prep could’ve been used to strengthen those essays. Just play up your strengths, which in this case, is your family and economic situation. Good luck! :)</p>